1855 Bad River Plea For Church

Bad River Oct. 12, 1855

We the Catholic and Pagan Indians at Bad River

Father, we have some complains to make against four or five of our fellow Indians here at Bad River, who want to disturb our place, peace and welfare. Among those four of five Indians we enumerate chiefly the two Chiefs, who are still members of the Grand Medicine. We are building a small church with the assistance of our Missionary. They want to prevent us from doing so, but not openly. We understand they have written a letter to you in order that you would prevent us from continuing that church. The few whites who are among them are ?ading this plot as we understand, which we are very sory for. Now then, we beg you Father, to drop a few lines to them, that they may be quiet and not disturb the peace of our homes. If you do so all will be finished at once. We want to practice our religion now in a peaceable way, and a good may of us want to take region? yet and be civilized. We don’t want to go to any other place to settle, neither backward nor forward but it is at our old homes we want to live, to pray, to be civilized and to die.

Witnesses:
We the undersigned your children: Mackinac Agency
Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs 1828-1880
National Archives Microfilm Publications M234 Roll 404 1853-1855